10 Things you need to know about the Sherlock ‘Final of Finales’

As we brace ourselves for The Final Problem, the cast and creators tell TV Magazine what's in store

BY PAUL SIMPER

14th January 2017,12:03 am

It’s going to be the ending to end all endings…

1 The biggest of all Sherlock twists came last week in The Lying Detective, with the revelation that Sherlock and Mycroft’s mysterious third sibling – “the other one” – is, in fact, their sister, Eurus (Sian Brooke).

Sherlock: The biggest of all Sherlock twists came last week in The Lying Detective, with the revelation that Sherlock and Mycroft’s mysterious third sibling – “the other one” – is, in fact, their sister, Eurus

“People had posited a brother and we just thought: ‘Why couldn’t she be a sister?’” says writer/co-creator Steven Moffat. “Eurus is Greek for ‘God of the East Wind’. There’s a reference in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s His Last Bow to ‘an East Wind coming’.”

2 Actress Sian will take centre stage this week in The Final Problem after hiding in episodes one and two as ‘woman on the bus’ E, ‘lady in red’ Faith and therapist Elsa. “We said to our casting director: ‘We want somebody who should be a star but isn’t right now,’” reveals Steven.

3 Even though Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) had worked with Sian in the stage version of Hamlet, he had no idea about her casting. “When I found out I got the part, I thought: ‘Bless Benedict,’” says Sian. “Then he said: ‘I didn’t know about it!’”

4 For eight months, Sian lived a secret life. “I was in Cardiff filming for three months and I kept disappearing,” says Sian. “I’ve got two kids and my neighbours were like: ‘Where are you going?’ I said: ‘Oh, I’m just filming some new programme for the BBC.’ ‘What is it?’ ‘A crime drama.’ ‘Who’s in it?’ ‘No one you’d know.’ ‘Has it got a name?’ I truly had to keep it so quiet.”

Sherlock: “People had posited a brother and we just thought: ‘Why couldn’t she be a sister?’” says writer/co-creator Steven Moffat

5 Sian was so paranoid that she never let go of her scripts. “I had this bag that I just carried around with me all the time. Night and day.”

6 The Tom Hiddleston photo with co-creator Mark Gatiss, which hinted the star would play rumoured third brother Sherrinford, was a huge red herring. But could he still be in episode three? “We had fun with it,” admits producer Sue Vertue. “They are good friends…” teases Steven.

7 And will Irene Adler be back in episode three? The revelation that Sherlock and Irene (from series two’s A Scandal In Belgravia) are still in touch – with mention of them meeting up at a Harvester in High Wycombe – has fans hoping…

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8 Talk of Mrs Hudson’s surprising other life (Mr Hudson ran a drug cartel!) have led to suggestions that she could have her own spin-off series if this is the last Sherlock. “We’ve built this elaborate character around [actress] Una Stubbs,” says Steven. “She’s a powerhouse.”

9 Might series five – if there is one – be two men and a baby? With John Watson [Martin Freeman] a widower, what will happen to his daughter Rosamund? “Some of this stuff is addressed in the final episode,” says Steven. “What do we do with the baby? Because by television convention, your life is over the moment you have children. But that’s not true. Lots of people have children. You still work like before.”

10 The great worry for Sherlock fans is that the Conan Doyle tale The Final Problem,
which is the only time the modern series has used an actual Doyle title without tweaking it, is the one in which Sherlock dies…